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Groton Daily Independent
Monday, Aug. 7, 2017 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 038 ~ 16 of 23
controlled National Assembly scheduled their own session for Monday, vowing to continue ful lling their responsibilities no matter what the assembly might do. Leaders of opposition groups, which boycotted the July 30 assembly election, called for renewed protests on Monday, though turnout at demonstrations has been sparse in recent days.
Residents who live near the army base in Valencia attacked Sunday said they began hearing bursts of gun re around 4:30 a.m.
A video showing more than a dozen men dressed in military fatigues, some carrying ri es, began cir- culating widely on social media around that time. In the recording, a man who identi ed himself as Capt. Juan Caguaripano said the men were members of the military who oppose Maduro’s socialist government and called on military units to declare themselves in open rebellion.
“This is not a coup d’etat,” the man said. “This is a civic and military action to re-establish the constitu- tional order.”
Maduro said 20 men entered the base and managed to reach the weapons depot undetected, but then an alarm sounded alerting troops to the incursion. He said 10 of the invaders ed, some carrying off arms, while those left behind exchanged gun re with soldiers until about 8 a.m. before all were either killed or captured.
“Today we had to defeat terrorism with bullets,” Maduro said.
Nearby residents who saw the dissident group’s video online gathered around the military base chanting “Freedom!” Other protests also emerged around Valencia into the afternoon. Troops dispersed protesters with tear gas and a man was fatally shot at a demonstration less than a mile from the base, said Haydee Franco, coordinating secretary of the opposition Progressive Advance party.
More than 120 people have been reported killed in four months of unrest that has been fueled by anger at the socialist government over food shortages, soaring in ation and high crime.
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez characterized the attackers as a “paramilitary” expedition, say- ing the intruders were civilians dressed in uniforms. He did not identify any of the participants, but said they included a lieutenant who had abandoned his post. He said the man who recorded the video was a former of cer dismissed three years ago after being charged with rebellion and betraying the homeland.
In 2014, Caguaripano released a 12-minute video denouncing Maduro during a previous wave of anti- government unrest. He later reportedly sought exile after a military tribunal ordered his arrest, appearing in an interview on CNN en Espanol to draw attention to what he said was discontent within military ranks.
Venezuela’s latest bout of political unrest erupted in protest to a Supreme Court decision in late March ordering the National Assembly dissolved. Although the order was quickly lifted, near-daily demonstrations snowballed into a general protest calling for a new presidential election.
Opposition leaders have urged the military, which historically has served as an arbiter of Venezuela’s political disputes, to break with Maduro over what his foes consider violations of the constitution. But the president is believed to still have the military’s support.
Like Sunday’s uprising, most manifestations of dissent among troops have been small and isolated so far.
“It’s still very hard to know to what extent there are signi cant divisions within the military,” Michael Shifter, president of the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue, said recently.
US to respond by Sept. 1 to Russia’s expulsion of diplomats By JOSH LEDERMAN, Associated Press
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Trump administration has yet to decide how to respond to Russia’s move to expel hundreds of American diplomats, but plans to deliver a response to Moscow by Sept. 1, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Monday.
A day after sitting down in the Philippines with Russia’s top diplomat, Tillerson said he’d asked “clarify- ing questions” about the Kremlin’s retaliation announced last month following new sanctions passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump. The Trump administration has struggled to determine how the move will affect the U.S. diplomatic presence in Russia, as well as the broader implications for